For example, a sales director wants to meet with the sales manager of any region where sales drop below a certain threshold. You might embed an action object into the sales director's dashboard to enable the sales managers to schedule such a meeting simply by clicking a link. Or, you could use an agent to schedule the meeting automatically as soon as the sales threshold is passed.

What Are Action Links and Action Link Menus?

An action link is a link to an action that you have embedded in an analysis, dashboard page, scorecard objective, scorecard initiative, or KPI that, when clicked, runs an associated action.

Figure 10-1 shows an analysis to which an action link has been added to column values. When you hover the mouse pointer over a column value (for example, Touch-Screen T5 in this figure), the column value is displayed as a link. Clicking the link executes the associated action.

Figure 10-1 Example of an Action Link Added to an Analysis

In analyses, KPIs, scorecard objectives, and scorecard initiatives, multiple action links are displayed in a list. Figure 10-2 shows an analysis to which a list of action links (Display Map View, Send E-mail to Manager, and Open Index Page) has been added to column values. When you hover the mouse pointer over a column value (for example, Touch-Screen T5 in this figure), the list is displayed. Clicking a link in the list executes the associated action.

Figure 10-2 Example of Multiple Action Links Added to an Analysis

On a dashboard page, you can add action links as standalone links or you can group multiple action links together on action link menus. An action link menu lets users select, from a list of action links, the appropriate action to be executed based on the business insight that they gained from the data.

Additionally, you can conditionally show each action link, depending on the data. This powerful functionality enables you to set up context-sensitive menus that present users with the appropriate next steps based on the data that is displayed. For more information on conditionally showing action links, see "About Conditionally Enabling Actions".

Action links that you add to analyses are displayed to users in the following views:

Action links that you add to scorecard objectives and initiatives are displayed to users in the following scorecard views:

Cause & effect maps

Custom views

Strategy trees

Strategy maps

KPI watchlists

Action links that you add to KPIs are displayed to users in KPI analyses.

What Action Types Are Available?

The types of actions that are available are categorized into two groups: those that navigate to related content and those that invoke operations, functions, or processes in external systems.

Privileges control which types of actions you can create. You might be able to create only navigate-type actions, only invoke-type actions, or both navigate- and invoke-type actions. Or, you might be able to only execute actions (if they exist as shared objects in the catalog or in a shared object, for example in a dashboard or analysis). For more information, see "Who Can Create Actions?"

Navigate to E-Business Suite — Navigates to an Oracle E-Business Suite page or form. You use this type of action to allow users to navigate back to an Oracle E-Business Suite page or form after they have first logged in to Oracle E-Business Suite and then accessed Oracle BI EE.

Navigate to Siebel CRM — Navigates to a view (such as an opportunity) in a Siebel CRM application. You use this type of action to allow users to navigate from a dashboard that is embedded in a Siebel CRM application to a record in a view in the CRM application.

Invoke a Web Service — Invokes a Web Service operation or any SOA service that is exposed as a Web Service (for example, a Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) process in the Oracle SOA Suite that is exposed as a Web Service).

Invoke Server Script — Executes a custom script when the current agent completes. The custom script type can be either Javascript or VBScript.

Note:

This action supports custom script actions when the server is running on Microsoft Windows. For other platforms (including Windows), consider using the Invoke Java Method (EJB) or Invoke Web Services action.

Invoke an HTTP Request — Sends an HTTP request through the server to a target URL. This action type is used to invoke external systems that are exposed by URL APIs.

Invoke Agent — Invokes another agent. This action type lets you chain agents. For example, you can have Agent A invoke Agent B, which invokes Agent C and so on.

Who Can Create Actions?

The ability to create actions is controlled by the following action privileges, which are managed by the administrator:

Create Navigate Actions — Grants the right to create actions that navigate to related content.

Create Invoke Actions — Grants the right to create actions that invoke operations, functions, and processes to external systems.

Save Actions containing embedded HTML — Used in conjunction with the Create Invoke Actions privilege, grants the right to embed HTML code in the customization of the results of a Invoke Web Service action.

Where Can I Add Actions?

Where you can add an action depends on its type. You can add some types to analyses, dashboard pages, agents, scorecard objectives, scorecard initiatives, and KPIs, while others you can add only to agents or only to analyses, dashboard pages, scorecard objectives, scorecard initiatives, and KPIs. Table 10-1 lists the types of actions and identifies where you can add each type.

What Are Named Actions?

A named action is an action that you define and then save by name in the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog so that you can reuse it. You can also reuse a named action as a template to create another named action.

You can save all types of actions to the catalog except the following types:

Invoke Agent

Invoke Server Script

Invoke Java Jobs

ADF Contextual Event

For example, suppose that you frequently want to include navigation to your organization's Web site in analyses and dashboard pages that you are designing. You can create an action that navigates to the URL and save it to the catalog. Then as you create analyses and dashboard pages, you can add this named action to them.

You create a named action when you create a new action from the:

New menu on the global toolbar by clicking Action and then selecting one of the action types (for example, Navigate to a Web Page).

Home page by clicking Action in the Create area and then selecting one of the action types (for example, Navigate to BI Content).

You can also create a new named action from a dashboard, an analysis, or a KPI. You do so by creating an inline action and then, to keep it, saving it to the catalog. For information on inline actions, see "What Are Inline Actions?"

What Are Inline Actions?

An inline action is an action that you define at the point of use and do not save by name in the catalog. Instead, it is saved as part of the analysis, dashboard page, agent, scorecard objective, scorecard initiative, or KPI.

An inline action is automatically deleted when the analysis, dashboard page, agent, scorecard objective, scorecard initiative, or KPI that contains it is deleted. This simplifies catalog management for actions that make sense only within particular BI content.

For example, suppose that you are designing a dashboard page and want to invoke an EJB that you plan to use only once. You can create an action that invokes the EJB at that point and then add it to the page. When you save the dashboard, the action is saved with it.

You create an inline action when you:

Create or edit an agent and add a new action to run when the agents finishes.

How Will Actions Created in Previous Releases Be Upgraded?

In previous releases (prior to 11g) of Oracle BI EE, you could use the Advanced tab to specify one or more actions to execute when an iBot completed or create action links that allowed end users to navigate from their dashboards to a record in a Siebel operational application.

What Are Action Parameters?

Action parameters are used to pass data from Oracle BI EE to the operations or processes that are represented by actions:

For actions that invoke Web Service operations, the parameters correspond to the simple types defined as attributes and simple elements (or complex elements deconstructed into their simple type components) within the input message of a Web service operation and are read from the Web Service Definition Language (WSDL) that defines the operation and any parameters on that operation.

For actions that invoke a Java method, browser script, or server script, the parameters correspond to the arguments on the method.

For actions that navigate to a Web page or invoke an HTTP Request, the parameters correspond to the parameters passed through from the URL.

When creating a named action or when associating an action with an object (such as a column on an analysis), you can specify whether a parameter is:

Fixed — A fixed parameter can be seen but its value cannot be set by a user.

Hidden — A hidden parameter cannot be seen and its value cannot be set by a user. (Note that hidden does not mean that the parameter is secure.)

Optional — An optional parameter does not require a value in order for the action to be executed.

Actions that are added to KPIs are associated with KPI ranges so they are enabled conditionally because of their definitions. Likewise for actions that are added to scorcecards, because they are associated with states of initiatives and objectives.

About Conditionally Enabling Actions Added to Analyses

When you add an action to an analysis, you can specify that its associated action link is to be displayed only when one or more conditions are met. You do this by selecting one or more columns in the analysis to use and specifying the condition to meet. (The steps to specify a condition are very similar to those used for conditional formatting.)

For example, in an analysis that shows sales figures by regions, you can specify that an action link Send E-mail to Regional Manager is to be displayed only if sales figures drop below a certain amount.

About Conditionally Enabling Actions Added to Dashboard Pages

When you add an action to a dashboard page, you can specify that its associated action link is to be displayed only when a certain condition is satisfied. You do this by specifying a condition (either a named or inline) that is to be satisfied.

For example, in a dashboard page that displays stock levels for products, you can specify that an action link Order Stock is to be displayed only if stock levels are low for a given product.

Using conditional action links on an action link menu lets you display different sets of actions to users, depending on the data in dashboard pages. For example, in a dashboard page that displays stock levels for products, you can add an action link menu that contains the following action links:

Order Stock and Stop Advertising, if stock levels are zero for a given product

About Conditionally Enabling Actions Added to Agents

While you primarily use an agent's condition to determine whether the agent delivers its content or not, you can also use it to determine if the agent executes its actions.

When you add an action to an agent, you can specify that the action is to be executed only when a certain condition is satisfied. You do this by adding a condition (either inline or named) to the agent, and then specifying whether you want the action to be executed:

Only if the agent condition evaluates to true

Only if the agent condition evaluates to false

For some actions, you can also specify whether to execute the action for each row that is returned by the condition. (Note that Invoke Server Script actions and Invoke Agent actions cannot be executed per row of the result set. In addition, if one of the action parameters is a result set mapping, then it cannot be executed per row.)

For example, you could add an action to an agent that automatically kicks off a new marketing campaign and specify that it is to be executed only if a condition that evaluates whether sales for a region drop below $2,000,000 is true.

Specifying the Settings for New Actions

You specify the settings for a new action in the "Create New Action dialog" (displayed as the New Action dialog for agents and dashboards, and Add New Action dialog for scorecards), when you do any of the following tasks:

Invoke a Web Service, the "Select Web Service Operation dialog" is displayed, where you select a Web Service operation to be invoked or enter the URL for the WSDL if the web service is not preconfigured, and then the Create New Action dialog is displayed.

Invoke a Java Method, the "Select Java Method dialog" is displayed, where you select the Java method to be invoked, and then the Create New Action dialog is displayed.

Any other action type, the Create New Action dialog is displayed.

Depending on the type of action that you are creating or editing, do one of the following, as described in Table 10-2.

Table 10-2 First Step by Action Type

Action Type

What You Do

Navigate to a Web Page

or

Invoke an HTTP Request

In the URL field, enter the URL of the Web page.

Tip: You can highlight the URL in the browser and copy and paste it into the URL field.

If the script has parameters defined for it and you selected the function in the Select Script Function dialog, then the parameters are displayed in the Define Parameters list. If you manually entered the function name, then you must manually add the parameters.

Invoke Server Script

In the Language box, select JavaScript or VB Script, and then in the Script Path field, enter the path of the script to be executed.

View — The name of the view that contains the record to which to navigate, for example, Opportunity List View.

Applet — The name of the parent applet in the view that contains the record to which to navigate, for example, Opportunity List Applet.

Pass Value — The row number of the record to which to navigate, for example, 3SIA-2O5VU.

Generally, if you are adding this type of action to an analysis as an inline action, you use a column in the analysis criteria to set the value of Pass Value. To do so, click the Change type of value button, select Column Value, and then click the Column Value button and select the column.

For how to determine the name of the view, applet, and record row number, see your Siebel CRM application documentation.

For information on defining parameters, see the steps for defining parameters in this procedure.

(for an Invoke an HTTP Request only) In the Request box, select one of the following options:

Get — Invokes the URL as an HTTP GET request.

Post — Invokes the URL as an HTTP POST request.

(for an Invoke Agent action only) In the Execute for Recipients box, select the scope of recipients. For example, if you want the recipients to be the same as the recipients of the selected agent, then select Of Specified Agent.

(optional for a Navigate to Web Page or an Invoke an HTTP Request action) To define parameters for the action, then click Define Parameters to display the Define Parameters list.

Define the parameters as appropriate:

To add a parameter, click the Add Parameter button. A new parameter row is added to the Define Parameters list. (Note that the Add Parameter button is not available for all action types.)

(for an Invoke Server Script action only) To pass the delivery content or the results of the analysis on which the agent condition is based to the script, click the Add Document Parameter button. A new document parameter row is added to the Define Parameters list.

Specify the column values for each parameter:

In the Name column, if you are creating a new parameter, then enter the name of the parameter. Use a name that is unique within the action.

This column is not available for all action types.

In the Prompt column, if you want the user to provide the parameter value, then enter the prompt to display to the user.

In the Value column, to provide a parameter value, then enter or select the value. If you want the user to specify the value, then leave this field as is.

In the Fixed column, specify whether to allow users to see but not set the parameter.

This column is not available for all action types.

In the Hidden column, specify whether to hide the parameter from users.

This column is not available for all action types.

In the Optional column, specify whether the parameter requires a value before the action can be executed.

(optional) Customize information displayed to the user when the action runs:

This functionality is available only for actions where it is appropriate to display information to users.

Click OK.

If you are creating a named action, then a dialog is displayed where you specify the information for saving the action.

Adding Actions to Analyses

You can add one or more actions to a column heading, column value, or hierarchy level value in an analysis. When you add an action to a column heading, column value, or hierarchy level value, you add the action by using an action link.

When an analysis that contains one or more action links is presented to users in a pivot table, table, map, graph, or gauge, users can click a link to run the associated action.

In the Primary Interaction box in the Column Heading area (to add one or more actions to a column heading) or the Value area (to add one or more actions to a column value or hierarchy level value), select Action Links to display the Action Links area.

To add an action that has been saved as a systemwide default for the column or level, click the Add Action Link button and select the action.

If you are creating an ADF Contextual Event action, you do not need to specify any settings for it. Instead, you just select ADF Contextual Event. The action name is then displayed in the Action field.

To specify that, when only one action link is available at run time, the action link is to be executed immediately rather than be displayed in a menu for selection, select the Do not display in a popup if only one action link is available at runtime box.

Click OK to close the Column Properties dialog.

Click the Save Analysis toolbar button on the Analysis editor to save the analysis.

About Adding Actions to Dashboard Pages

You can add actions to dashboard pages in one of two ways:

By adding to a section on the dashboard page an Action Link object to which you add an action.

When a dashboard page that contains one or more action links is presented to users, users can click a link to run the associated action.

By adding to a section on the dashboard page an Action Link Menu object to which you add action links.

When a dashboard page that contains an action link menu is presented to users, users can select a link from the action link menu to run the associated actions.

(for an action link that navigates to a URL or to other BI content only) Use the Open Link in New Window box in the Action Link Properties dialog to specify whether to open the link in a new browser window or tab.

(for Navigate to BI Content actions only) Use the Add to Briefing Book box to specify whether the action that is associated with the action link can be executed in a briefing book, but only if the number of briefing book navigation links to be followed is greater than 0.

Adding Actions to Agents

Determine whether to add the action to the Agent Condition True or No Condition Exists area or the Agent Condition is False area as follows:

If there is no condition associated with the agent, or if there is a condition associated with the agent and you want the action to execute only if the condition evaluates to true, then use the Agent Condition True or No Condition Exists area

If there is a condition associated with the agent and you want the action to execute only if the condition evaluates to false, then use the Agent Condition is False area.

(not available for Invoke Server Script actions, Invoke Agent actions, or actions for which one of the parameters is a result set mapping) Select the Invoke per Row option if you have specified a condition for the agent and want to execute the action for each row returned by the condition.

Click the Save this Agent toolbar button in the Agent editor to save the agent.

Adding Actions to KPIs

You can add one or more actions to a KPI. When you add an action to a KPI, you add the action by using an action link.

When a KPI that contains one or more action links is presented to end users (generally in a scorecard or a KPI watchlist), users can click a link to run the associated action.

In the Link Text field, enter the text to display as the link to execute the associated action.

Click OK in the Action Link dialog.

The action link is added to the Action Link area.

Save the objective or initiative.

Creating a New Action Based on an Existing Named Action

You can create a new action based on an existing named action.

For example, suppose that your organization has an existing named action Send Message that sends an e-mail message. Its parameters include a recipient, subject, message, and priority. You can create a new action that is based on this Send Message action that sends a high priority message. To do so, you provide a high priority value for the priority parameter and save the new action with a new name, such as Send High Priority Message.

To create a new action based on an existing named action:

Edit the existing named action on which you want to base a new action. The "Edit Action dialog" is displayed.

Click OK in the Action Link Properties dialog, and then in the Action Link Menu Properties dialog (if displayed).

Click Save to save the dashboard.

Editing Actions Added to Agents

You can edit an action that you have added to an agent. If the action is an inline action, then you can edit the entire action. If the action is a named action, then you can edit only the parameter values.